Preview: id Software – RAGE

Rage QuakeCon Trailer

Not sure if you all have heard or seen anything from this game for a while (last video they had on IGN before this one was from GC 2008). Anyway, for those not in the know, or have any idea what this game is about, the trailer sums it up pretty good. It’s a FPS with Racing elements (as well as a few RPG-like influences as well). Of course, you can tell by just looking at screens, that is has a post-apocalyptic setting, much like that of, say, Fallout 3 as a more recent example.

Rage takes place in the near future of Earth, where the planet has been devastated by the massive asteroid Apophis (id is taking an actual asteroid that is on a near-collision course with Earth and making the supposition that it’s much larger than scientists currently believe). With doomsday upon humanity, the governments of the world band together to form the Eden Project, a system where scientists, researchers, engineers, and military personnel are frozen underground in 12 to 16-person groups known as Arks. The purpose of this system is to have these chosen people come back and rebuild society after a while, passing on their knowledge and skills to ensure the survival of the human race. What the governments didn’t plan for is that many more people survived the impact than predicted, and these outside survivors establish their own settlements, raiding clans and (for the unfortunate ones) mutant enclaves. As an Ark member, you emerge from your cryostasis somewhere in the southwestern states of America (in an area that looks like Arizona) to discover that your facility has been horribly damaged, leaving you as the lone survivor of the experiment to rediscover this vastly changed world. Your mission now is to find out what happened to the other Arks.

Usually id’s games are strictly First Person Shooter, though, so a lot of the elements are going to be a first for them. The manufacturing aspect sounds interesting, as you will have no weight restrictions and an unlimited number of inventory slots, so you can collect anything and not have to worry about restricted space. Another nice thing is, you can create new things anywhere, no need for a workbench, and you can do so just as long as you have the blueprints and the parts. Going through the rest of the IGN preview, here are a few more details:

There are many different types of weapons, including cross-bows and the standard FPS weapons like shotguns, machine guns, and pistols

Manufacturing skills can also be used on grenades, with an example being an EMP grenade

id is aiming for your vehicle to be an extension of the player, so customization on the vehicles is definitely there, adding armor, weapons, all kinds of things. If it’s damaged out, you’ll have to call a tow truck to take it back to the garage, where you’ll have to pay for repairs.

Vehicle weaponry will auto-lock onto targets when they are in front of you

Bandits will occasionally drop ammo and weapons when you take them out, but not always. Other possibilities include cash and rewards.

Gameplay will be open-ended, allowing you to do many of the side quests, but it won’t be to the point where you wouldn’t know where to go next to continue the main story arc.

Most battles leave you open to decide wether you want to go in guns blazing or take a more stealthy approach.

Like in Killzone 2, there will be automatic turrets and sentry bots to help you fight as well. When done using them, depending on the condition, you can collect their parts or the entire weapon.

Clearing out a base doesn’t mean it will stay that way. With the world changing constantly, they can be taken over again at a later point.

Modification to vehicles is done at Mike’s Garage in Wellspring. You must enter into races to win certificates to modify your vehicles, though.

Races are run by Jackie Weeks, and all that is needed to enter races is to talking to Week’s assistant, Slim and it’s pretty much guaranteed from there.

Races are done in a reconstructed arena built by citizens of Wellspring. Tracks are laid out with both Ammo power-ups and Nitrous canisters.

Certificates are granted by taking out enemies and a good placement in the races. 1st place grants you 15 certificates to use on vehicle customization.

You can gain sponsorships by some of the patrons to grant access to better races.

J.K. Stiles, one of the sponsors, will have you compete on a television show called Mutant Bash, where you will have to kill off mutants on a soundstage built up with a bunch of different set pieces. He will reward you for the work and you can also gain fame on re-runs of the show.

First main chapter of the game set in the Southwestern United States. No word on where the second part of the game will take place.

According to IGN, there are still a ton of gameplay elements not yet revealed. The game is actually looking quite promising and I will almost definitely be picking it up. Remember a few weeks back where John Carmack talked about the advantages of Blu-Ray? Rage will fit onto one blu-ray while it will definitely have to be on 2 DVD discs. We haven’t had to switch discs since PS1, but looks like the 360 will! Keep an eye on this game.